


This is Where You Will Catch Your Breath

by jdjunkie



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Angst, Episode Related, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Post Episode: s09e13 Ripple Effect
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-24
Updated: 2014-11-24
Packaged: 2018-02-26 21:28:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2666951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jdjunkie/pseuds/jdjunkie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>His eyes, though, his eyes were full of Jack.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This is Where You Will Catch Your Breath

**Author's Note:**

> The title is taken from the Tom McRae song, One Mississippi.
> 
> Fic was written for the Jack/Daniel Through-the-Years-a-thon at Dreamwidth.

“Hey.”  
  
Jack opened his arms and they were full of Daniel before the sound of their familiar greeting had left his lips. He smelled of exhaustion and ink and the faded cologne Jack had bought him last Christmas.  
  
“Hey.” Daniel whispered the word into the warm skin of Jack’s neck, making Jack shiver; the sound of him, the feel of him. The shock and delight of familiarity coursed through him the way it always did when their bodies came together after time apart.  
  
Jack held on, tightening the hug, loving the weight of the man against him and the way every part of them found their rightful place so easily, hip to hip, thigh to thigh, heart to heart.  
  
“You okay?” Jack whispered into cold skin beneath Daniel’s ear.  
  
“Pissed off, stressed and tired. But starting to feel better now." Jack smiled and turned the grin into a gentle, welcoming kiss.  
  
They chose the same moment to pull back and Jack took his first, glorious, longed-for look at Daniel after six weeks of nothing but phone calls, most of them missed because one or the other was otherwise engaged. He did look tired, and that could have been the result of travel or something else and Jack would find out which eventually, and he had a couple of days’ worth of beard. His hair was ruffled, as though he’d been running restless hands through it. His eyes, though, his eyes were full of Jack.  
  
Still touching, because he needed to touch him and it would be a while before he’d stop reaching out just to make sure he was really here, Jack cupped Daniel’s face with one hand and ran a thumb over deliciously stubbled cheek. Daniel had brought the cold Washington air in with him and Jack wanted nothing more than to warm the chill away and ease them back into being them. Daniel closed his eyes and Jack saw the moment he allowed himself to begin to relax.  
  
“Hungry?”  
  
Daniel opened his eyes and where there had been gentle affection there was now a spark of fire.  
  
“Not in the way you mean,” Daniel said, pulling Jack towards him and pushing his hips forward.  
  
Jack gasped, feeling himself harden instantly. “No dinner to spoil. Takeout’s on speed dial. I can call anytime.”  
  
Daniel’s grin was wicked.  
  
Jack took him by the hand and led him to bed.  
  
>>>>>

  
“Oh, fuck. Oh _god._ ” Daniel’s words were muffled as he smushed his face in the pillow. Above him, Jack panted, willing himself back to the here and now after an orgasm that had been a total whiteout. It wasn’t always this intense, this needy, but they’d been apart for so long that hard and fast was the only way to go, the first time. There would be time for gentleness but this wasn’t it.  
  
“Jack ...” So full of longing.  
  
“Right here.” Jack found his voice as he leaned down, covering Daniel’s sweat-sheened back and running a shaking hand over the beautiful curve of shoulder and up into damp, spiky hair, scrunching and smoothing. “Right here.” He closed his eyes and concentrated on returning his breathing to normal; in, out, he’s here, he’s home ...  
  
“Love that. Love _you_.” The words were slurring, a sure sign Daniel was on the cusp of sleep.  
  
“Yeah.” Jack kissed that beautiful curve of bone and muscle, and tasted salt and warm skin. It was heaven and Daniel his debauched, amazing, fallen angel. He always loved this moment, when they’d taken the initial, frantic edge off their physical need for each other. It marked the beginning of Daniel truly coming home. “So fucking much, Daniel.”   
  
Jack felt the precise moment Daniel gave into the exhaustion and let sleep pull him under. Content that Daniel had finally relaxed enough to let go, Jack made himself a human blanket, covering Daniel’s body, protecting him. Daniel had told him once that he’d never liked being blanketed because it made him feel crowded and trapped, but he liked it when Jack did it because he felt safe and cherished. Then, he’d made a self-deprecating “who knew?” kind of face, and Jack had kissed him and said not to worry, his secret was safe.  
  
Safe.  
  
Big word. For Daniel, it was a massive word. He’d never really let anyone close enough to admit that he needed to feel it. But he’d let Jack get close and it was his was a privilege to hold him secure like this. That was Jack’s last thought as he pulled the comforter up, smiled against smooth skin and settled in to join Daniel in slumber.  
  
>>>>>  
  
Jack woke up when Daniel began wriggling out from beneath his General Blanket. Easing himself off the delicious warmth of Daniel’s body, he immediately reached for him and drew him close. They shuffled until they were both comfortably settled, legs entwined, Daniel’s head resting on Jack’s chest.   
  
Late afternoon had turned into evening while they napped and, through the slatted blinds at the window, Jack could see that it had started snowing. Maybe Daniel’s flight, currently 42 hours away - not that Jack was counting - would be grounded. He could hope.  
  
They both let out a contented sigh at the same moment, and they laughed about that. A sudden burst of quiet happiness made Jack unable to stop himself from placing a kiss on the top of Daniel’s head.  
  
“You alright?” Jack asked, nuzzling Daniel’s hair. Damn – he couldn’t stop touching.  
  
“Better than alright.” Daniel scooched closer, his soft package brushing Jack’s thigh. It felt wonderful.  
  
“Not too sore?” The loving had been hard. It was what they’d both needed but that didn’t lessen Jack’s concern.  
  
“Bit uncomfortable but I like that. Means this is real. That it happened. That you’re really you, I’m me and here we both are.”  
  
Daniel’s fingers were drawing lazy circles on Jack’s chest, riffling through his chest hair. Something else that felt wonderful. Jack took a moment to process what Daniel had just said. Ah ...  
  
“Those alternate SG-1s doing a number on your head?”   
  
Jack had been apprised, although he didn’t need a report to know how coming up against other versions of yourself screwed you up mentally and futzed with sense of self. He shivered slightly, thinking of Harlan’s duplicates. And this was worse – this was living, breathing other Daniels, other Carters, other Fraisers. Alternates, not machines, often living their lives in a there-but-for-the-grace-of-god kind of way.  
  
“I guess it just makes you think how things could have turned out differently. Forks in the road. Decisions taken, that kind of meaning of life stuff. And I’m really sorry; I shouldn’t be voicing this shit when we should be enjoying the moment because god knows we have few enough of them.”  
  
Jack stroked Daniel’s hair. His gaze skittered around the room, taking in the hastily shed clothes that traced their path from the bedroom door. “Any regrets about ... one decision in particular?” He hated himself for asking the question because he knew how it sounded but, hey, even Generals had insecurities, and the move to Washington, half a continent from Daniel, was playing with his head.  
  
Daniel pushed up and away, his hair sliding silkily through Jack’s fingers as he propped himself on his elbow and faced Jack. “About us? God, no. Never. Took us a while to get there,” he quirked that half-smile that did things to Jack’s dick. “But I’ve never doubted we made the right decision.” The look in eyes gave Jack the confirmation he needed.   
  
Jack reached out and drew teasing fingers across Daniel’s chest. “Slow and steady won our race, huh?”  
  
“Still winning every day.”  
  
Daniel’s smile lit up Jack’s world. It always did.   
  
Pursing his lips thoughtfully, Daniel lowered his gaze and started drawing endless curlicues on the sheet between them. Jack wondered what was coming next. Apart from them, again, hopefully, in the not too distant future.  
  
“Do you have any? Regrets, I mean.”   
  
Jack tilted his head, as though giving the question some serious thought. “I regret that you cut your hair before I had the chance to run my fingers through it.”  
  
Daniel snorted a surprised laugh. “You wanted to do that? Back then?”  
  
“Yeah. It always looked kinda soft and inviting. Why do you think I spent so much time shoving my hands in pockets?”  
  
That brought forth a double blink.  
  
“Because it was all part of the ‘I’m so laid back I’m practically horizontal’ schtick you liked people to see.”  
  
Jack poked Daniel gently in the chest. “Because my fingers constantly twitched to muss your hair. Pockets were safer.”  
  
There was that smile again. Many things had changed about Daniel over the years. His smile, actually, the many versions of smile, had not. Jack just read them better these days, and he knew for a fact that there were some smiles only Jack got to see.   
  
“Long hair was a pain in the ass. I only kept it that way as long as I did because it made me feel less ... military. It kept me connected to who I used to be, I guess.” For a moment, he appeared lost in thought.  
  
Jack reached out and cupped Daniel’s cheek in his hand. “You’ve never lost who you used to be. Now, you’ve got added me.”  
  
Daniel grinned. “Lucky me.”  
  
“Oh, I think we both know who’s the lucky one here.” Jack sure did. He got Daniel. Daniel got a crotchety old guy with bad knees. No contest.  
  
Daniel turned his head and kissed Jack’s palm. “We both lucked out. Those alternate Jack and Daniels didn’t seem to have found each other.  
  
Jack thought about that for a moment. “Oh, I don’t know. I had my suspicions about our duplicates. That Jack seemed awfully sad and angry. Just like I was the year you were ... away.”  
  
Daniel lay his supporting arm down and rested his head on it. “I'm not sure robots count.”  
  
“Of course they do. They were us. Sort of.”  
  
“Well, generally speaking, the alternate Jacks seem to have ended up with alternate Sams. On the most recent fuck-with-your-head occasion, one Sam had been on honeymoon and another was on maternity leave. It was all kind of ‘wink, wink, nudge, nudge, she’s with Jack’.”  
  
“Hey. I have a cast-iron alibi. And, anyway, all those other O’Neills had probably never met other Daniels. Carter and me, that’s just ... wrong. And wrong. Did I mention wrong?”  
  
Daniel rolled his eyes. “Come on, Jack, you love her in every way that matters. It’s not so hard to believe.”  
  
Jack shuffled down to mirror Daniel’s position. If they were going to talk about this, he wanted Daniel to see the truth of what he was saying. “I don’t love her in that way. Not the dirty, filthy, adoring way I love you.”  
  
Daniel’s nose crinkled in the cutest way when he smiled. “Well, that’s okay then. But you don’t have to pretend you don’t have feelings. I’m really not the jealous kind.”  
  
Jack frowned. “You’re not? Damn. I kinda wish you were. It’s hot.”  
  
Daniel grinned, which turned into a jaw-cracking yawn. “Sorry. Sorry. Your masterful lovemaking has left me more tired than I thought.”  
  
“We aim to please.” He sounded smug and he knew it, although he suspected Daniel’s recent heavy, difficult workload had more to do with his need for sleep. “Wanna eat?”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
“Thai?”  
  
“Sounds good.”  
  
“Okay.” Jack leaned in for a long, deep, satisfying kiss, then reluctantly got out of bed and negotiated the discarded clothing minefield on the way to the takeout menu and phone. He ordered a ton of food and picked up a couple of bottles of beer from the fridge before padding back to the bedroom.  
  
“Hope you’re ...”  
  
Daniel was asleep. He’d turned onto his side and curled up like a contented fireside cat. Jack stood in the doorway for a while, watching him breathe, listening to the light snore that meant Daniel was well and truly asleep.  
  
Quietly, Jack picked up their clothes, folded them into a semblance of neatness and placed them on the bedside chair before gently sitting down on the bed in the convenient V-shape made by Daniel’s bent knees. Reaching out, he stroked soft, silky hair in the way he’d never been able to when he longed to do it. Daniel didn’t stir.  
  
He could do this now. No need to play with the nearest available magnifying glass or artefact to give his hands something to do.  
  
He could do this now.  
  
He smiled to himself and kept on stroking, sparing a thought for all those Jack and Daniels who had yet to find each other. Daniel was right. It might take them a while to get there, but it would be the best decision they ever made.  
  
ends  
  



End file.
